Apple Europe 'can do better' on iPhone

Apple plans to widen European iPhone distribution and will launch a French TV show download service later this year, while Carphone Warehouse sells out of discounted 8GB iPhones

By
Jonny Evans
| 25 Apr 08

Apple's general manager of European operations Pascal Cagni believes Apple can do a better job at selling the iPhone in Europe than it has done so far.

Speaking to French newspaper, Les Echos, Cagni said Apple intends expanding its distribution of the iPhone to other European countries, though he declined to name those countries.

Cagni also reiterated Apple's determination it will sell ten million iPhone's in the current financial year. The company has sold just under 5.5 million since the product's US launch last June.

iPhone is currently expected to ship in the Netherlands, Belgium, Spain, Italy, and other European countries around the same time as the launch of the 3G iPhone in June.

Cagni also offered a tidy fillip to Apple's French users, promising the company will introduce TV show downloads through iTunes France in the coming months. Apple introduced such services into Germany on 2 April.

In related news, Carphone Warehouse today confirmed it has sold out of the recently-discounted 8GB model of iPhone. O2 and Carphone Warehouse cut £100 off the cost of the unit. The phone retailer says the discount provoked a "phenomenal response", but warns it doesn't expect any "additional stock at this time".

Apple is widely expected to introduce an upgraded iPhone model in June.